Jason's Chapter

I was surprised by how different Jason’s chapter was when I contrasted it with Benjy and Quintin’s chapter.  It was straightforward.  Yes, Jason reflected on past events, however he was thinking of how it applied to the present (more specifically, how it affected him personally) rather than living in the past.  I believe that this chapter revealed how spiteful Jason truly is, in past chapters I have developed a strong aversion to him, but reading from his perspective solidifies and intensifies those feelings.  In the very first line of his chapter, “Once a bitch always a bitch, what I say,” (in reference to his sister’s daughter, Quinton), Faulkner turns readers against Jason-he is a character that we are meant to hate.  Listening to Jason’s cruel perspective is difficult; he is unwilling to take any of the responsibility for his actions, pushing the blame off to others.  He is also very greedy, siphoning money off the checks Caddy sends to support Quinton, making about fifty thousand dollars in fifteen years.  He is also guilty of stealing from his mother, taking advantage of her limitless trust and unrelenting favoritism.  All of Mrs. Compson’s other children were far more deserving of their mother’s love and support, and yet Jason is the only one that she doesn’t consider a “curse.”  As a child, Jason was cruel, and as he grew, those traits only intensified.  He is clever, but uses his talents to further take advantage of others.  He is so blinded by the ‘wrongs’ that others have done to him that he is unwilling to attempt to make any changes to his situation.